By Emily Snowball, Senior Account Executive, Hawthorne Lane
“Your personal brand” … I bet you hear this term thrown around a lot. It’s sometimes used to describe your personal style, the way you dress, the way you talk, perhaps even how you present yourself online and in person.
But what about your personal brand in the job search arena? For many, it’s a gray area, something they don’t quite understand. This is A-OK, I promise; we all start somewhere!
So, let’s unpack it.
It’s your unique identity: a showcase of who YOU are as a professional. It’s your personality, traits, skills, reputation, and values at work. It defines what YOU are thought of and remembered for, and it’s the truest differentiator between you and your colleagues.
It’s all in the way you carry yourself, communicate, show up, and act; the soft and hard skills you have; and, most importantly, your attitude.
So, how can you refine your personal brand in your job search?
Communication:
Communication skills are one of the first traits interviewers notice about you; from the moment you say hello to the way you finish your interview, and every moment in between, interviewers are determining your ability to communicate.
Spoiler alert! Communication isn’t just your tone or the verbiage you use, though that is crucial, it’s a lot about how you’ve prepared for your interview. For example, imagine that you’re the hiring manager and you step into an interview with a candidate who evidently hasn’t done their research. The first question you ask is “what do you know about our company?”, and the answer is rushed, unclear, and lacking conviction. It’s likely that your perception of the candidate is that their communication skills aren’t strong.
To be a strong communicator, it’s crucial to prepare for your interview. This includes undertaking in-depth research, preparing to answer questions with detail, coming up with relevant questions, and studying the job description in advance of meeting the employer.
How can you best prepare in these areas?
- Research the company, the website, social media pages, leadership, and the interviewer you will be meeting with. While you likely won’t be expected to know everything about the company, you should have a strong grasp of what they do and their mission or services, etc.
- Ensure you’ve practiced answering common interview questions in a clear, concise, and confident manner, and with depth and examples if relevant. Additionally, you should practice an ‘elevator pitch’ and an overview of you as a professional and your experience. You want to ensure you are confident in everything you are communicating.
- Having genuine, thoughtful questions ready for the interviewer shows you are seriously invested in the opportunity and are already thinking about future areas. Quality over quantity in the question department; two to three quality and thought-out questions are much better than multiple generic questions.
- Print out the job description and study it. Not only will this help you to understand the position on paper, it will show in your interview that you have a strong understanding of the role and can answer questions tailored to the prospective responsibilities. You will also feel confident knowing you’ve truly done all the preparation and research you can.
Some of the most common feedback from hiring managers is that candidates lack communication skills. Not preparing puts you at a disadvantage from the start and inhibits your ability to communicate in the strongest manner.
The takeaway? The key to successfully interviewing lies not only within basic communication skills, like tone, punctuality, and verbiage, but also in the areas that will allow you to communicate confidently and effectively; the preparation work.
Presentation: Presentation isn’t just the way you show up to your interview; it spans your online presence, the way you communicate via email, and even how you speak over the phone.
Imagine that you’re a hiring manager and you log on to a virtual interview… The candidate is sitting in bed wearing a hoodie with only half of their face visible. Would that make you feel like the candidate understands what appropriate attire is in the professional services world? Likely not.
So, what exactly are employers initially looking for?
- A clean resume that’s easy to read and provides accurate and detailed bullet points outlining your experience and previous or current duties. It is important that the resume is 100% accurate with all dates, titles, education, and employers listed. Offers are typically pending the verification of these details.
- A LinkedIn profile and resume that align. Make sure your LinkedIn is up to date and includes correct and matching dates of employment, your education if relevant, and a professional photo. • Dress appropriately for every step: slacks, a blouse, a blazer, and enclosed shoes or heels. Use a professional LinkedIn or profile photo too. It doesn’t need to be professionally taken; find a white wall to stand against, smile, and say cheese!
Remember personal branding shouldn’t end after you accept an offer and start the role.
I think this is where the greatest discrepancies can occur: you before accepting the job and you after starting the job. Your personal branding shouldn’t be left at the door. It should be part of everything you do at work.
Defining yourself as a hard worker is simply the act of remaining consistent. In my experience, the most common feedback I receive on what a hard worker looks like includes:
- Striving to learn and grow in your role.
- Working thoroughly and remaining focused each day.
- Intentionally building relationships and rapport with your colleagues.
- Not being afraid to ask questions or to own your mistakes while learning.
- Welcoming feedback and implementing it.
- Enjoying the fun times, but knowing when it’s time to dial back in.
- Coming to work on time, if not slightly earlier, to prepare for your day.
- Staying late when your team needs you.
Following the mindset that “no job is too small or too big.”
- Attending work appropriately dressed.
- Facing challenges and downtimes with a positive mindset.
- Following through on things you said you would do.
So, I challenge you to think about the current state of your personal brand. What are you known for at work? Is there anything you want to change? Are you following through on the promises you made to your employer when you interviewed?
Remember your personal branding is ever changing. You at 21 won’t be the same you at 25 or 30 and beyond. The best part? You get to make changes and tweaks whenever you want. So, if something isn’t sitting right with you now, make small changes each day until you’re where you want to be.
I can’t stress enough: your personal brand is one of your most valuable professional assets. It’s the synopsis of your communication skills and presentation, your ethos, values, and morals, and most critically traits you consistently demonstrate.
By remaining consistent in your attitude and effort at every stage of your job search and employment journey, you build the reputation that defines your long-term career success and opens doors for your future self.
Your unique identity is an asset. Don’t leave it at the door.
Emily Snowball is a Senior Account Executive at Hawthorne Lane. Emily has four years of experience supporting full cycle recruitment for direct hire, temporary-to-hire, and temporary searches across a wide range of industries. She works closely with both clients seeking to add talent to their teams and candidates looking for their next career step, to create meaningful professional matches. While Emily supports all types of searches, she specializes in placing candidates in temporary and temporary-to-hire roles, using an honest, thoughtful, and service-oriented approach to build long-lasting partnerships.
